Gage for floor-boards



(No Model.)

J. P. HOSTETTER,

GAGE FOR FLOOR BOARDS. No. 369,988. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

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JOHN F. HOSTETTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAGE FOR FLOOR-BOARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 369,988, dated September 13, 1887.

Serial No. 235,380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. HOSTETTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gages for Floor-Boards; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved gage, and Fig. 2 a side view, partly in section, of a modification. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the blocks with the removable piece.

This invention has relation to gages, and has for its object to provide a gage adapted for use on flooring having tongues and grooves formed thereon.

This invention consists in the provision of a sliding or adjustable gage adapted to correctly determine the exact position and size of the tongue or groove on the edge of apiece of flooring.

This invention further consists in the provision ofa sliding or adjustable gage, in which the head will be provided with a groove on its inner side and the sliding or adjustable block provided with a tongue on its inner edge; or the positionof the tongue and groove may be reversed.

This invention still further consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, more fully described hereinafter, and specifically pointed outin the claims.

In the manufacture of flooring it is of very common occurrence that the cutting knives in the tonguing and grooving machine are not set exactly true to each other, and as a consequence the tongue and groove are not exactly opposite each other, or one of the cutters may be slightly out of line, and as a consequence the tongue or groove will be uneven. In either of the above-mentioned cases the defect in the finished board is not apparent to the eye of the attendant running the cutters, and will probably not be noticed by the workman inputting the material onto a floor; but

after the floor has been laid the defect will be clearly seen, by the fact that the floor is uneven, and in order to make a good finish the boards require planing. By the use of my gage the attendant at the tonguing and grooving machine can at once detect the slightest irregularity in the cutting, and by adjusting the knives or feeding mechanism produce boards with perfect finish; or the workman who is using the flooringcan by the use of my gage detect any imperfect boards.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents the head of the gage, which is formed with a groove, a, on its inner edge a. To the head Ais rigidly attached the stock B, which may, if desired, be ruled off, as shown, in inches and fractions thereof. The edges of the stock B are beveled to afford bearings for the sliding block 0, having its inner edge I) provided with a tongue, b. The tongue I) may either form an integral part of the block 0 or it may be made separate and detachable therefrom, as also may the portion of the head A which forms the grooves on the edge a, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, wherein the tongue and groove parts are attached to the head and block by dovetail joints. The object in having the tongue and groove portions separate and detachable is to provide for using the same gage with different widths of board or different-sized tongues and grooves.

The method of using and testing by the gage is as follows: The gage is placed on the piece of 'fiooring to be tested, the tongue on the board entering the groove a, and the tongue 1/ on the sliding block B, entering the groove on the opposite side of the board. If the tongue and groove on the board be in the correct position and perfectly formed, the stock 0 will lie squarely on the face of the board, otherwise it will not do so, and its position will designate that either the tongue or groove is imperfectly formed.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. A gage for tongue-and-groove material, consisting of a head-piece, a stock and a sliding block, the head and sliding block being tongued and grooved, as shown and described.

2. A gage for tongue-and-groove material, consisting of a head-piece, a stock and a sliding block, the head and sliding block being provided with removable tongned and grooved 5 pieces, whereby they may be adaptedto gage material of different sizes, as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my h April, 1887.

JOHN

Witnesses:

and this 12th day of F. HOSTETTER.

WILL H. POWELL, R. DALE SPARHAWK. 

